Friday, April 20, 2007

Incredibly Bad African Fashion Music Video, April '07

It's that time of the month for Ladybrille's Incredibly Bad African Music Video. Offenders are arrested, charged and whisked off to Ladybrille's fashion jail pending arraignment in Ladybrille's Style Court. The offending artists are the new group called Jozi out of Johanesburg in South Africa. They have a hit song making airwaves called, "What's with the Attitude."Profile: Jozi is a group of four young South African guys from Jo'burg ; Song: "What's with the Attitude" ; Charges: LFPC 215 Making a HIP-SLOP video; LFPC 300, Dumb lyrics; and LFPC 419, fraudulently impersonating American hip-hop artist, Pharell.

This video from start to finish is Oshi. There is a sense of annoyance that comes over me, not so much towards the talents. The talents are usually young, don't have negotiating power, half the time they want to do fun and meaningful songs but are overpowered with producers, directors and songwriters that should think about the impact on Africa but are concerned only about the bottom line! Double oshi to the producers and directors of this video. "What's with" the HIP SLOP?" The location of the shoot, do the mama and papa of the girls know they are in some abandoned building krumping on bush men?

The lyrics, don't get me started. As if young African girls and women do not have their share of constantly fighting and demanding for respect from our men. Now, thanks to Jozi's producers and directors, we have a brand new generation of young African men that are being trained to think the value of the African girl is her vajayjay. Hello? What's with the dumb lyrics, for real? Songwriter, is this the best substance you could come up with, let's sample some of the lyrics "hey mami, you might think you got me. Once I hit it, I'll leave you knock knee. You are trying to stop me. . . . you know you want to eat me like I am made out of fudge . . . you frontin' like am harassing you but at least I ain't dude that's going to be beating you or smacking you." Okay? Oh! Thank you very much "homie" that you ain't gonna be beating and smacking the girls. But, you do intend on beating, oops "hitting" and smacking their vajayjays don't you? Yup! Gotcha! Seriously, what do these barely puberscent boys know about "hitting" it? Songwriter, I don't like, at all, especially the impact on young African girls in Africa. In the West with all kinds of laws that are plentiful, women, African and non-African, run the show, honestly. In Africa, hmmmmmm, Akon's dumb lyrics, "smack that all on the floor," I hate that song, might be taken very literally with no consequences.

Alright, alright. I'll go easy on the lyrics BUT "What's with" the styling? Stylist, must every hip-hop/R&B African video be styled in a very boring, overdone, outdated hip-slop look that is OVA? For one of the singers who looks like a toddler with oversized glasses, is that an attempt at impersonating Pharell? That's a Fashion 419. Producers, directors, can these talents have their own identity? For the Bush men, is that the best cultural homage y'all can come up with? Now you done gone and confused all the white folks who because of the discovery channel think all African men- are bush men and they are only supposed to hunt and gather meat. Y'all should know better than having teenage girls krumping on bush men. Akon, the African senegalist brother making it on America's hip-hop and R&B charts, just got into hot water for a serious krump attack on a 14year old on stage. Take a clue and keep the bush men in the bush they jumped out from.